K’taka Milk Fed demands AP Govt To Clear Rs 130 Crore Dues

The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) is deeply disappointed by the AP government for not clearing the payment of Rs 130 crore towards Sampoorna Poshana scheme. Under this scheme, the KMF provides ultra-high temperature milk to over 20 lakh children under the age of six of nutritious food.

For the scheme the AP government made an agreement with KMF in June 2020 and since then the milk federation is supplying 110 lakh litres of milk at Rs 5 per litre to Anganwadis. The KMF added that even though the price of milk per litre is not feasible, they agreed as it is for a noble cause.

“We have penned many letters to the AP government, Principal Secretary to the AP Chief Minister and Women & Child Development Principal Secretary to clear the pending bills but our letters went unanswered,” said KMF Managing Director B C Sateesh.

Disclosing the plight of dairy farmers, KMF MD added that Karnataka milk unions are incurring heavy losses due to hike in fuel prices and higher input costs. The milk unions have informed that they will not be able to supply the milk if the dues are not cleared and also the current price of milk per litre should be hiked by Rs 5.

“Earlier this year in February, we requested the AP government to hike the price of milk. But the government asked us to continue the price policy till May 2021 and assured us to take a call on it. We did not agree to the AP government’s revert yet we continued to supply milk. Now we are not receiving payments despite writing to the Finance Department,” added Sateesh.

In recent times, the YCP government has been in bad books for its financial mismanagement. Be it diverting the funds of National Health Mission and others, this due for KMF is a spot of bother as children will be the sufferers.